How to keep retail therapy from ruining your budget

Maybe this sounds familiar to you: You’re sitting at home after a particularly bad day, trying to watch an episode of True Detective. You open up the Amazon app on your phone.

Before you know it, you’ve racked up over $100. And you’re not really sure on what.

Many of us do some form of this — whether it’s going out with our friends or spending that money at Target.

It’s called emotional spending. Retail therapy. And it often makes us feel good, until it doesn’t.

Two financial experts joined MPR News host Angela Davis to help us understand why we do it and how to take control of it.

Guests:

• Chris Farrell is MPR News’ senior economics contributor.




• Shannon Doyle is the financial education program manager at LSS Financial Counseling.